Nas partners with Koru to offer a scholarship fund for

Legendary Queensbridge representative, Nas, is having an amazing 2014. For the first time in a long time, his name has been in the all over the news for something other than beef, his relationship with Kelis or legal/tax issues. While continuing to make music and moves, Nas has not abandoned his mission to make a difference. This time, he's partnering with Koru to offer a scholarship fund to benefit students seeking to further education. Allhiphop.com reports:

Nas once rapped “read more, learn more, change the globe” and he is putting his money where his bars are. Today (May 28th), the Queensbridge legend and his investment company Queensbridge Venture Partners have teamed up with Koru to offer college graduates The Nas Scholarship Fund.

The Nas Scholarship Fund is the product of Queensbridge Venture Partner’s investment in Koru, a highly selective program that gives exceptional college graduates job training and placement. Koru has partnered with 13 colleges and recently awarded the first recipients of The Nas Scholarship Fund. Steeve Simbert, a prospective Georgetown University graduate of the 2015 class and Marixa Rodriguez, an Occidental University graduate of the 2014 class were the first to be rewarded with the honor. Simbert is majoring in Government, whereas Rodriguez graduated with a double major in History and Spanish.

Nas dropped out of school after the eighth grade in the late 80s. However, in a statement released earlier today regarding The Nas Scholarship Fund, Nas spoke on the importance of helping those who’ve achieved higher education:

I’m inspired to support Koru participants because I know how hard it can be to carve out your path and purpose in life.  It takes conviction, hard work and the right network. The young people going through Koru are gritty, book smart and street smart.  The Koru program gives them an opportunity to put those smarts to work. I can’t wait to work directly with them and share what I’ve learned through my own life experiences.

The deadline for the July program is June 9^th and the deadline for the September programs in Seattle and San Francisco is June 30^th. To find out more about Koru, The Nas Scholarship Program and ways to apply, check out Koru’s official website.

Cops searching YouTube and Instagram for answers in Murtle Beach shooting

While everyone's eyes were on the shooting that took place on the west coast this past Memorial Day weekend, there was another shooting spree that took place over on the east coast. As yet another reason why I always forgo large gatherings like this one, a shooting took place at Atlantic Beach Bike Fest that left 3 dead and others injured. Now cops are scanning the internet for answers. Yahoo! News has more on the story:

Police in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are studying videos on YouTube and Instagram and asking people to send any cellphone pictures to help identify gunmen in a weekend shooting that killed three people.

The shooting, in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the U.S. Southeast, occurred during an annual sports motorcycle rally called the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, a popular Memorial Day event.

Late Saturday, police responded to a large street fight in front of an oceanfront motel and were attending to a man who had been shot when more gunshots rang out, officials said.

Several people involved in the fight fled into the hotel when multiple shots were fired at them, killing two men and a woman, police said. 

Jamie Williams 28, and Devonte Dantzler, 21, were pronounced dead at the scene. Another victim, Sandra Gaddis Barnwell, 22, died at a local hospital. All three died from gunshot wounds to internal organs, said Horry County Deputy Coroner Darris Fowler.

A fourth person, Keith Williams, 24, was wounded in the shootings and was being treated at a hospital, the Myrtle Beach Sun News said.

Police say they have obtained a 16-second cellphone video of the street fight filmed by a bystander that shows a man firing gunshots that struck at least one person.

At least five other shootings occurred in Myrtle Beach over the weekend and wounded seven, the Sun News said.

Many citizens, including the mayor, blamed the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, which brings thousands of young people to the beach each year.    Some angry Myrtle Beach citizens appeared before the city council on Tuesday to protest the violence and recount problems they experienced during the weekend event.

Teen kills his brother over clothes dispute in Little Haiti

When I was younger, my brother and I got into it plenty of times. I mean knots on the head, holes in the walls, sure. But, never once did either of us ever consider killing one another. So this story about two siblings in Little Haiti dying over some kind of dispute about clothes comes as a bit of a shocker. WSVN.com has more:

According to the family of 14-year-old Stephen Odeus and 16-year-old Stanley Blanc, the teens started fighting over clothes inside their apartment, located on Northeast First Avenue and 71st Street in Little Haiti, Sunday night. Their older brother, 18-year-old Mark Blanc, said he broke up his two younger siblings. "Everything cooled down for a second, but then it escalated outside," said Mark.

Outside their apartment, Stephen and Stanley resumed their altercation, at which point, Mark said, the younger brother pulled out a gun and fired a shot, fatally striking his older sibling. "I ran outside, I got to the point of where [my brothers were fighting]," said Mark. "Right before my eyes, my brother shot my other brother."

"I was an eyewitness, it happened right in my face," Mark continued. "I was less than five feet away."

The tragedy did not stop there. Shortly after witnessing Stanley's fratricide, Mark heard another gunshot. "Then I heard my second brother die cause he shot himself," he said.

Mark said he thinks his younger brother acquired the gun from a neighbor. He said he never saw Stephen with a firearm inside their home. "That's blood, you know, nobody wants to kill their own brother," he said.

Legendary poet Maya Angelou passes at age 86

Well I hate to start the morning off like this, but one of the greatest figures in Black History has passed away according to reports. She's apparently been missing appearances recently to deal with some health issues. What a great loss! Fox reports:

Award-winning author, renowned poet and civil rights activist Dr. Maya Angelou has died. She was 86.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines confirmed Angelou was found by her caretaker on Wednesday morning.

Angelou had been reportedly battling health problems. She recently canceled a scheduled appearance of a special event to be held in her honor.

Angelou was set to be honored with the “Beacon of Life Award” at the 2014 MLB Beacon Award Luncheon on May 30 in Houston.

Angelou, one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time, is a celebrated poet, novelist, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker and civil rights activist.

She has received over 50 honorary degrees and was Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

Angelou is famous for saying, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Angelou was named one of the 10 most admired North Carolinians in a recent Elon Poll.

There are no further details at this time.

Dr. Maya Angelou’s last tweet:

Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.
— Maya Angelou (@DrMayaAngelou) May 23, 2014

NYPD continuously try to arrest a man who's been dead for 8 years

In the most recent "911 is a joke" news, the NYPD has been harassing the Jordan family trying to arrest one of their family members. But, here's the kicker; the man they're trying to arrest has been deceased since 2006. Hip Hop Wired reports:

The NYPD has been raiding a Brooklyn apartment trying to arrest a man who has been dead for close to a decade. James Jordan Sr. passed away from diabetes in 2006, and his family is now suing the city because cops routinely burst through the unit looking for the deceased.

“I tell them over and over, ‘James isn't here! He's dead! It's that simple. What's so difficult to understand about that?' ” said widow Karen Jordan, who filed the suit.

Officers have already hit the unit four times this year, forcing Karen to tape a death certificate to the window to prove James is no longer alive. “I wanted it to be the first thing they saw before they came into my home and flipped it upside down,” she said. “I can't hide anyone in my apartment. It's not big enough for that. But they keep coming and insisting that he's in my house.”

James was "a hard working man" who "took care of his eight children," his wife said. Officers ransack the apartment each time the drop in, Karen said. "They tell me to be quiet of they'll lock me up…they go through my entire house, turning out drawers, looking in closets, harassing my children and asking them terrible questions.

Authorities arrested the couple's 31-year-old son, James Jordan Jr., last July believing he was his father. “I told them that my father was gone,” he recalled.“They just didn't believe me. When they came in, they came in like a riot team. It was like a raid. Six officers rushed into the apartment and woke me up.”

He and a friend were slapped with weapons possession charges that were later dropped.

The elder James didn't have an extensive criminal history, but was arrested three times in 1996. It is unclear why NYPD officers haven't updated his information.

Boko Haram continues to kidnap more young girls to be sold into slavery

For those of you who aren't aware, there is a real serious issue going on in Nigeria where young girls are being kidnapped and sold into marriage and/or slavery by a radical group named, Boko Haram. Well, in total, hundreds of school girls have been kidnapped and the latest is that 8 more girls have been kidnapped. The Guardian reports:

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have kidnapped eight girls aged between 12 and 15 from a village near one of their strongholds in north-east Nigeria, police and residents say.

"They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army colour. They started shooting in our village," said Lazarus Musa, a resident of Warabe, where the attack happened on Monday night.

"Many people tried to run behind the mountain but when they heard gunshots, they came back. The Boko Haram men were entering houses, ordering people out of their houses."

The military's inability to find the girls has led to protests in the north-east, Abuja and Lagos, the commercial capital. More are expected on Tuesday in Abuja, just as delegates will be collecting their badges to allow them entry to the hotel where a World Economic Forum meeting on Africa will take place from Wednesday to Friday.

A bomb in Abuja killed 19 people last week, another event that has embarrassed the government before the forum.

16 year old receives college degree before graduating high school

With all the negative coverage this generation receives, it feels good to finally have a story to report on that's positive. A 16 year old by the name of Grace Bush has received a college degree....before graduating high school! I tip my hat to that young lady and her family. CBS Miami reports:

“It's kind of weird that I graduated college before high school,” said Grace Bush.

The teen from Hollywood earned her bachelor's degree in criminal justice Friday morning from Florida Atlantic University.

She did it with a 3.8 grade point average and completed the four-year degree in just three years.

“I started when I was 13 at Broward College and I also took my classes throughout the summer, so I was able to finish it before four years,” said Grace Bush.

Grace's parents wanted their nine children to earn college credit in high school because they can't afford to send all of their kids to college. Their mother, who home schooled all the kids knew early on, Grace had a knack for learning.

Veteran NYPD plants 2 kilos of cocaine on 2 men

We all know police have been planting drugs and guns on people for years. But, now it's starting to come to the surface and it's becoming harder for the crooked police to get away with it. This 16 year vet has apparently got caught in his own web of deception. NYDailyNews reports:

Prosecutors say Salim searched two drug defendants, Wayne Davis and Jose Martinez, without probable cause, but covered it up with false statements to a grand jury and again at a suppression hearing.

Prosecutors said Salim had testified he and his partner in the Firearms Investigation Unit stopped the men at W. 144th St. and Bradhurst Ave. on July 13, 2009 only because they mistook Davis for a confidential informant who was wearing a similar outfit that day.

Salim had claimed the men told him a duffel bag at the scene wasn't theirs, so he searched it after the men began walking away and found cocaine. Salim said he and his partner then went looking for Davis and Martinez and arrested them for the cocaine.

But surveillance footage and other evidence revealed Salim and his partner searched the men as they were standing there, prosecutors said.

"The defendant arrested both men, stopped and frisked them, and then search the bag," Assistant District Attorney Ryan Connors told the judge.

Salim then "falsified" testimony to "create probable cause in the case," the ADA added. Salim's partner was not charged.

Teen mother puts infant in Walmart bag

I have two issues with this story. First of all, I can't help but notice the geographical location of where this murder took place; Chicago. There is something seriously going on with the psyche of many of the youth in Chicago. Secondly, teen pregnancy is something else that needs to be addressed here. Someone who isn't fully developed mentally and emotionally can't be expected to be responsibly for the direction and well-being of another dependent human being. Chicago Tribune has more on the story of Ana Rosa Mora:

Prosecutors said Ana Rosa Mora, who faces a first-degree murder charge, killed her baby out of fear her boyfriend would leave her. The teen then concocted a story intended to dupe those who knew she was pregnant, officials said.

By the time a construction worker called police a few hours later after spotting the infant in the Northwest Side gangway, the child was dead.

When two staff members at Kelvyn Park High School noticed on Monday that she'd recently given birth, Mora showed them a photo of a baby girl on her iPad and said it was hers, Assistant State's Attorney Glen Runk said.

But Mora then brought up the dead baby found near her home and asked the school officials whether police had the right to take DNA from people in her house and whether that DNA would show who the child's mother was, prosecutors said.

After initially denying that the child was hers, Runk said Mora admitted to police that she gave birth to the boy alive and then placed him in the gangway next to her home in the 2700 block of North Hamlin Avenue. Prosecutors said that Mora told police the baby looked like her ex-boyfriend, who was in fact the father, and that she was afraid her current boyfriend would realize that and leave her.

In bond court Saturday, Judge Laura Marie Sullivan ordered the teen held on $500,000 bail. Mora's public defender said she was on track to graduate from Kelvyn Park in June and had planned to attend college this fall.

Man cherged with knowingly infecting girlfriend with HIV

As an AIDS/HIV awareness advocate, I want to take this moment to encourage everyone to get tested and make sure you know your status. Now that there are HIV tests that you can take in the privacy of your own home, there really isn't an excuse for not knowing your status. Trust me you don't want to end up like either of these two. News One reports:

Johanson Little (pictured), a Chicago man who failed to inform his ex-girlfriend of his HIV-positive condition, could face felony charges, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to Assistant State Attorney Dan Griffin, Little and the unnamed woman dated between June 2012 and 2013. In February, she tested positive for the virus as well, Griffin added.

The woman says she wasn’t intimate with anyone else during her relationship with Little. She eventually found out from his family that his former wife died of AIDS.

Little admitted to hiding his status after his ex confronted him, Griffin said. The Chicago man has lived with the disease since 2003. Judge James Brown held Little on $750,000 bail. He is charged with criminal transmission of HIV, which is a Class two felony.

Funerals for anti-violence activist and 14 year old in Chicago brings out hundreds

While the mainstream news outlets were force feeding us with Donald Sterling, they seemed to completely overlook the shooting death of Leonore Draper, an anti-violence activist in Chicago who mas murder after leaving a rally that she herself organized. On Monday, hundreds turn out for her funeral as well as the funeral for a 14 year old who was recently killed over a disupute with her friend. The Chicago Tribune reports:

Endia Martin, 14, and anti-violence activist Leonore Draper were remembered today by family and friends.

Family and friends gathered midday today at St. Andrew’s Temple, 1743 W. Marquette Road, to mourn Endia, who was shot to death the afternoon of April 28 in the 900 block of West Garfield Boulevard.

A 14-year-old girl who prosecutors say was close friends with Endia until they fell out over a boy, and that girl’s uncle, Donnell Flora, 25, who is accused of supplying the weapon to her, are each charged with first-degree murder in Endia’s slaying. Four other people are charged in connection with the case. 

One of Endia’s cousins, Ricky Jacox, who attended her funeral, said the glorification of violence needs to end.

“We’re all asking the same question—when’s it going to stop? When are people going to learn from this and not showboat it and look at it as something to glorify,” Jacox tolf WGN-TV. “It’s really a problem going on.”

Services for Draper, shot April 25, were held midday at St.  Mark United Methodist Church, 8441 South Saint Lawrence Avenue. Police found Draper, 32, shot in the chest and arm in a parked car near her home in the 11600 block of South Laflin Street in the West Pullman neighborhood about 10:35 p.m. that day, about 30 minutes after the fundraiser she went to was over. She died early April 26. 
Police have said Draper was wounded in a possible drive-by shooting. No one is in custody in her slaying.